News & Events

Since the BBC aired Blue Planet 2 in 2017, the conversation around the use of plastics has continued to hit the headlines with increasing regularity and is of growing concern to consumers and governments alike. The UN Environment Programme estimates that plastics constitute “as much as 95 percent of the marine litter found on coastlines, the sea surface, and the ocean floor”. And when it comes to plastics it is packaging which is the biggest culprit, with the UK alone producing over 2 million tonnes of plastic packaging every year. Given the gravity of the global plastics crisis, businesses can no longer assume that unsubstantiated claims, pledges, or pacts around their use of plastic will be enough to secure the public’s trust in their brand. Now more than ever they need to prove the ways in which they are cutting the use of plastic and adopting alternative, compostable, materials through a robust certification process.

Control Union is pleased to announce that global cotton producer, the Amiha Agro Group, based in Ahmedabad, western India, is the first agribusiness to be certified under the regenagri programme.

UK based spirit business, the Isle of Wight Distillery, became the first company to be certified as 100% Plastic Free by Control Union UK on 24 November 2020.

Certification of the award-winning Plastic Free Trust Mark, now known as the Plastic Free Certification Mark, by A Plastic Planet has resumed with a new standard in place that is managed by Control Union.

regenagri, the newly established global regenerative agriculture initiative, has announced its governance team. This group of pioneering organisations will take the initiative to the next level.

A NEW ENVIRONMENTAL LABEL TO NEUTRALIZE
PLASTIC CONTAMINATION

Control Union and Zero Plastic Oceans are launching a new component to their Ocean Bound Plastic (OBP) certification program. Initially designed to encourage the recycling of OBP, this program has been reinforced by the introduction of a label promoting the collection and proper disposal of nonrecyclable OBP. Two certification subprograms are now available: the “Recyclable Ocean Bound Plastic Certification” and the new “Ocean Bound Plastic Neutrality Certification.”

Finotrol Oy and Control Union have agreed on an acquisition in which the entire share capital of Finotrol Oy have been transferred to Control Union. The acquisition will not cause any changes to the certification services previously offered by Finotrol Oy, but it will enable the provision of completely new, even more extensive certification services both in Scandinavia and the Baltic region.